Measuring Cognitive and Psychosocial Accessibility to Modern Contraception: A Comprehensive Framework

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Résumé

Nowadays, more than ever, the improvement of access to family planning (FP)
has become an international goal. What constitutes access to FP? Current human rights-based contraceptive guidelines indicate that access begins as soon as
women or couples express a desire to avoid pregnancy and their risk of unintended pregnancy is established. However, few studies have sought to define and
measure cognitive and psychosocial access to contraception. To propose a comprehensive framework for the cognitive and psychosocial accessibility of contraception, we critically analyzed the literature on attitudes toward FP. The main
dimensions that emerged were knowledge about FP, fear of side effects, approval
of contraception, and contraceptive agency. We then identified and adjusted
some questions that can capture these dimensions more comprehensively. As a
result, we developed a questionnaire module comprising 15 questions, which
was integrated into the 6th round of the PMA2020 survey in Burkina Faso in
2019. This research highlighted that previous studies have collected separate dimensions of contraceptive access, and the psychosocial dimension tended to be
neglected. Our results demonstrate that it is possible to collect comprehensive
data on cognitive and psychosocial dimensions of access to family planning.

Mots-clés

Cognitive Dimensions, Psychosocial Dimensions, Contraception, Intention To Use, Side Effects